down come thursday morning. >> well,mittromneyhasa lot more believers this morning after a commanding performance. most americans believe he trounced president obama in their first showdown. more on that in a moment. first, some of the reactions. even as the dust was settling. >> a week ago, people were saying this was over. we've got a horse race. mitt romney, his performance was head and shoulders above anything we've ever seen him do before. >> mitt romney rose to the moment tonight. in a way, frankly, that surprised me. >> it looked like romney wanted to be there and president obama didn't want to be there. >> dan lothian is in denver. morning, dan. mr. obama can't be feeling very good this morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, look, as you just played out in those sound bites, it was a big night for governor romney. some have suggested it was a make or break debate for him. he certainly showed up to fight. and voters agree he got the win in a cnn or flash poll, 67% of the voters said he won the debate. 25% saying president obama won. how did he do it? he challeng

>> i think the american people have to ask themselves, is the reasongovernorromneyiskeeping all these plans to replace secret because they're too good? >> what we're seeing right now in my view is a trickle-down govement approach which thinks that government can do a better job than free people pursuing their dreams. >> it's thursday, october 4th, and "starting point" begins right now. >> good morning! welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning is the morning after debate night in america. both candidates are on the campaign trail today, again, after the first of three presidential debates, the first one, of course, in denver last night. president obama and mitt romney going toe to toe on critical issues, like the economy and health care. and by most accounts, it was mitt romney who emerged the victor. lots of debate analysis ahead on "starting point." we'll be talking live with john mccain of arizona and rand paul of kentucky. from team obama, we'll be speaking with martin o'malley and campaign spokeswoman, jen psaki. plus, obama's former economic adviser, austan gools

obama andmittromney, theyare aggressively kourting them. jim acosta is traveling with a governor romney and he has a lot going on right now, jim? >> that's right, wolf. and mitt romney is out to make the case that the best defense is a better economy. >> in battle ground virginia both president obama and mitt romney pulled out the heavy artillery. romney slammed the president for the defense cuts coming at the end of the year. >> it is still a troubled and dangerous world and the idea of cutting our military commitment by a trillion over this decade is unthinkable. and devastating. and when i become president of the united states, we will stop it. i will not cut our commitment to our military. >> the president once again blasted romney's hidden camera comments on the 47% of americans he dubbed victims of government dependence. >> i don't think we can get very far with heed lookers who write-off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. >> 47% people of the people -- >> the obama campaign turned romney's remarks into a devastating new

's get right to it. >>>mittromneyraisingcash and rallying his supporters for 39 days to go until the presidential election. both romney and mitt romney speaking at fundraisers today. romney held one earlier in philadelphia. the president has one later in washington. at a campaign rally last hour at a military acted any many pennsylvania romney hammered away at the president over the economy. >> i have to tell you that i don't know how a single person who goes to this institution could consider voting for the incumbent for president. i say that for this reason. if they want to go in the military, why, he is planning on cutting our military by about $1 trillion over the next decade. if they want to go on to either get a job directly or go on to a four-year college and come out with a gee, you know that 50% of kids coming out of college today can't find a job or a college level job. on both fronts, this president's policies have not worked for the young people of america. >> their first debate happens on wednesday. the romney team is downplaying expectations. romney advisor beth mye

to debate night. just hours before barack obama andmittromney's firsthead-to-head primetime face-off. >>> oh,man. disaster, but it's not accident. crash cameras show you what it could be like upon a doomed jet liner. >>> and a florida woman's close encounter with a protected mammal. you know this could land her in jail? >> that's a costly picture right there. >> oh, my goodness. good morning to you. thank you for being with us. welcome to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. the big story this morning, it is go time. in just 16 hours all eyes will be on denver for the first presidential debate. president obama will be making his case for four more years and mitt romney trying to convince the country he is the better man for the job. now, right now it looks like voters need convincing on both sides because in a brand new cnn poll of polls it shows a very close race. the president maintaining a razor-thin three-point lead with a month to go at this point. our cnn political director mark preston is live from denver right in the middle

bieber, we salute you. that does it for us. >>> countdown to the faceoff.mittromneyandpresident obama get ready for the make or break it date. but romney says it's not about the win. >> plus, it was like hitting a lighthouse overnight. twoferry boats send at least a hundred to the hospital. >>> jump topping safety. a fire breaks out in an apartment building forcing a 72-year-old man to leap into the arms of bystanders below. just what happened? we're going to have all the details coming up. that's incredible. >>> good morning. welcome to early start. i'm brianna keilar. >> very nice to have you with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. i'm 5:00 a.m. in the east. counting down the final hours to the big denver debate. >> the stakes could not be higher for mitt romney and president obama. if a clear winner emerges, it could be a game changer. listen to romney tell supporters in denver, this debate is not a competition. >> the people want to know who is going to win, who is going to score the punches and who is going to make the biggest difference in the arguments they make? there's going to be the

of denver. there is president obama andmittromneypreparingto go face-to-face for 90 minutes with the presidency hanging in the balance. >> most americans head to the polls in five weeks. but by that time, an estimated 30% of the country will have already voted. >> early voting gets under way this morning in the battleground state of ohio, and the not so battleground state of nebraska. that means ballots are already being cast in ten states across the country. cnn political editor paul steinhauser is with us this morning. paul, more and more voters get a chance to go to the polls early. why is this so important? >> it is interesting, because what happens if a big development happens in this first debate or even some of the other debates and you've already cast your ballot and you want to change your mind. too late. most of the people who are voting early in these states are die-hards. ohio starting today. they're the second battleground state to start early. iowa, christine you know something about that. so it is interesting about a third of the country voted in one way, shap

trail both here in new hampshire and ohio, his bossmittromneyishunkering down, getting ready for the debate on wednesday, the first presidential showdown between him and president barack obama. romney spending a lot of this weekend in debate preparation. the same thing for the president. he's off the campaign trail today, tomorrow he does go out to nevada, but he's spending a lot of this weekend, we believe, behind closed doors getting ready. meanwhile, both campaigns are playing the expectations game, trying to lower the bar for their candidates. even the candidates themselves are doing it. take a listen to mitt romney recently on the campaign trail. >> he's president of the united states, he's a very effective speaker. >> he's a very eloquent speaker, and so i'm sure in the debates, as last time in his debates with senator mccain, he'll be very eloquent. >> it's not only mitt romney and his campaign playing the game. so is the obama campaign. >> what history tells us, that challengers normally win the first debate. just by the fact that they're standing on the stage with th